LETTER OF THE LAW
============== 2006-2007 ==============
The information contained in this Newsletter is a general
summary of the law in effect in Massachusetts at the time it was
written. It is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a
lawyer who has had the opportunity to review your own personal
situation. Under the rules of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
governing the conduct of lawyers, this may constitute advertising
matter. Nothing in this Newsletter is intended to imply specialization
in topic areas discussed here. Copyright © 2006-2007 A. Joseph Ross.
(July 2006)
A woman who borrowed $300 in 1970 to attend college
recently
got a letter from a collection agency telling her that she owed more
than $3000.00 in arrearage, fees, interest, and costs. She thought she
had paid this off, but she no longer had her records.
In 1991 Congress passed the Higher Education
Technical
Amendments of 1991. It eliminated all defenses to any attempt to
collect a federally-guaranteed or subsidized student loan except proof
of payment. Statutes of limitations don't apply, and you can be
required to pay the costs of collection, apparently including the
collection agency's attorneys fees. Amendments to bankruptcy laws in
2005 provide that any loan for
educational expenditures that would be tax-deductible cannot be
discharged in bankruptcy.
It doesn't matter when you got your student loan,
and it
doesn't matter whether you paid it off long ago. Save
all documents, especially any documents showing payment. Keep these
records for life and make sure that they are available
to whoever will administer your estate. It may be very unfair, but
that's the law.
(July 2006)
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that
is
extremely
toxic. It results from incomplete burning of fuels. Each year many
people die from accidental CO posoning. Under a new state law effective
on 31 March 2006, every owner of residential property, regardless of
size, which contains any equipment for burning fossil fuels or which
contains an attached or enclosed garage is required to install CO
alarms in every dwelling unit. A CO alarm must be installed on every
habitable level except for a basement or attic that does not have
habitable living space (family rooms, dens, etc.). On levels where
there are sleeping areas, the alarm must be placed within ten feet of
the bedroom doors. CO alarms are not placed in garages, but in the
adjacent living areas.
Homeowners are responsible for installing CO alarms
in
their
own dwellings. Landlords are responsible for installing them in every
dwelling unit. CO alarms must be inspected, tested, and maintained
annually and the batteries must be replaced annually. For rental
properties, this should be done at lease-renewal time.
The law allows alternative compliance options in
larger
buildings with multiple dwelling units and minimal or no sources of CO
inside individual units. This option allows the owner to target the CO
alarm to areas which may be a source of CO. There are also hard-wiring,
monitoring, and other requirements.
For most properties, CO alarms had to be installed
by 31
March
2006. Owners who choose the alternative compliance options and notify
the local fire department, and buildings owned by the Commonwealth,
such as public housing units, are not required to install CO alarms
until 1 January 2007. When a home is sold, the CO detectors must be
inspected by the local fire department before the closing.
(July 2007)
Information is power. When a judge, jury, or
administrative
agency hears conflicting testimony and must decide whom to believe, the
party with the better preparation and documentation has an important
edge in winning the credibility battle.
Many people have standard ways of denying problems,
which they
often make without reference to the facts. You can refute these denials
with meticulously recorded truth. Your landlord may deny off the top of
his head that you ever complained about a code violation. Your tenant
may deny that you ever complained about the noise he was making.
Instead of sputtering and complaining that he is lying, you can calmly
open up your notebook and list the dates you called to complain, the
people you spoke with, what they told you, and the times you called and
left messages that were never returned.
Keep two separate logs: (1) A chronology of
problems and
communications with parties and (2) a chronology of costs. Include
dates, places, persons present, who said what to whom. Keep your
original log in a notebook that you can show the court. Don't make
erasures or copy over your log. An unaltered original record may be
admissible in evidence and is more persuasive than a cleaned-up, edited
version.
In your log of problems and communications, write
down
everything that happens. If you have the same problem twice in an hour,
write it down twice. If you call to complain, write down whom you spoke
to and what you were told. If no one returns your call, write that
down, too. For a running problem, such as noise, lack of heat, or
repeated telephone outages, keep a log of each incident, each
temperature reading, the time and duration of each outage.
Try to communicate in writing. Keep the originals
of all
letters you receive and copies of all letters you send. If you preserve
letters in electronic form, make sure the documents have hard dates. It
isn t very useful to print out a letter you sent a year ago and have it
bear today's date. Keep all documents in order and in a safe place.
Archive e-mail systematically.
In your expense log, record all the ways that the
problem has
cost you money. Some examples are certified mail; photocopying; repairs
that you have made; the cost of eating out or staying in a motel; the
cost of replacement services; medical expenses; wages lost if you have
to miss work. You may be able to collect these expenses if you document
them.
All this recorded information will be helpful to
your
lawyer
in several ways: (1) You've saved us time by collecting needed
information. (2) You've made us more confident about your case because
a case which is well documented is more convincing in court and easier
to win. And a case that is easier to win is also easier to settle
favorably.
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